HeartCare Midwest Shows What Doctors Can Do
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Thriving in
a highly competitive marketplace, HeartCare Midwest was already popular with
patients - survey scores in February 2009 placed the 31-physician practice comfortably in the
upper quartiles of the Cardiology database.
At the same
time, the leadership team knew that Cardiologists everywhere were concentrating
on patient satisfaction as a key practice-building strategy, and that standing
still was tantamount to falling behind.
HeartCare
Midwest physicians also .knew that provider scores exert a huge "halo"
effect on every other survey score.
(Findings from a SullivanLuallin beta study had shown t.hat, when sixteen
doctors raised their average survey scores by .25, they produced a
statistically significant increase for all other questions on the survey.)*
A
seminar for the physicians emphasized proven behavioral techniques for
excelling at Customer Service, and the physicians committed to do even
better. Here's what they achieved in
less than six months:
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BEFORE
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AFTER
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Willingness
to listen carefully to you
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4.64
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4.83
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Taking time
to answer your questions
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4.63
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4.84
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Amount of
time spent with you
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4.53
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4.74
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Explaining
things in a way you could understand
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4.60
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4.83
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Instructions
regarding medication/follow-up care
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4.60
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4.80
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The
thoroughness of the exam
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4.59
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4.78
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Advice
given to you on ways to stay healthy
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4.53
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4.78
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Would you
recommend this physician to others?
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4.85
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4.92
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Average
scores rose from 4.62 to 4.81. The
physicians at HeartCare Midwest proved that, even when survey scores are near
the top of the five-point scale, doctors can lead their practice toward
substantial improvements.
*Please let us know if
you'd like to see the results of the beta study; it might come in handy when
you're talking with your doctors about Customer Service.
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Should
Doctors Wear White? |
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 These
days there's a lot of conjecture regarding doctors and other providers wearing
lab coats while seeing patients in the office.
A study reported in the American
Journal of Medicine (November, 2005) seems to indicate that there is a preference among patients for the
white garb.
The
objective of the study was to determine whether doctor apparel is an important
factor in the level of physician trust and confidence among patients. Researchers polled 400 patients (mean age
52.4 years) in the waiting room of an internal medicine practice. Respondents were asked look at pictures of
physicians in four different dress styles, then discuss their preference for
the doctors clothing styles and their willingness to discuss sensitive
issues.
Results
of the research showed an overwhelming preference for professional attire with
white coat (76.3%) followed by surgical scrubs (10.2%), business attire (8.8%)
and casual clothes (4.7%).
With
all of the focus on the potential for MRSA contamination and the push to
eliminate ties and lab coats, to meet patient expectations, it might make
better sense just to wash the lab coats more often!
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In the best practices... Spotlight on
Ohio Orthopedic Center of Excellence
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 Keeping
wait times to a minimum is a tough challenge, but one easily met by Ohio
Orthopedic Center of Excellence in Upper
Arlington, Ohio. They're among the top five highest-rated
medical groups in the MGMA-SullivanLuallin database on the question, "Waiting
time in the reception area."
We
asked Kathie Dodds, Director of Clinical Services, for the secret to their
success. As Kathie said, "Survey scores
don't get better by accident. We had to
admit to ourselves that there are times when you can't prevent long waits. We decided to let patients know that we
respected their time and that we cared about them."
The
practice made specific changes to the way it operated including establishing a
"concierge" desk in the reception area to greet and track incoming
patients. The job of "greeter" rotates
among several staff members who make a point of letting arriving patients know
the status of the doctor they'll be seeing.
When the staff member tells a patient that the doctor is running behind,
she is sure to ask, "Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?"
Further,
when a patient has had an inordinately long wait or been rescheduled more than
twice, Kathie sends a hand-written apology letter. A note to that effect is put into the
practice management software so that the next time the patient comes in, s/he
is treated with extra-special care.
The practice also adjusted the scheduling template to
accommodate emergency walk-ins which had a positive effect. "Perhaps, though, the best strategy we used,"
says Kathie, "is to unblind the survey results.
It really changed the physicians' behavior when they saw their
rankings. It beat having the staff
nagging them all the time!" |
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Q & A: Building Patient Volume
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 We're
seeing a decline in our patient visits due to the recession and we're wondering
if there are any quick tips for building the volume back up.
The
ideal, low-cost, no-cost strategy for increasing word-of-mouth referrals is to
make patients love you. An easy way to
convey that you care about your patients is to call them the day following
their visit. Ask how they're getting
along, reassure them that they're on the road to recovery (if appropriate) and
suggest that you're there to help if they need anything else. Because so few doctors' offices make these
calls, your contact will be totally unexpected, and will "delight" the patient. This is also an excellent strategy for
building the practice of a physician new to your practice.
Have a question you'd like our team to answer? Email us and put "Newsletter Question" in the subject line! |
User's Corner:
Wait Times in the Reception Area & Exam Room -
A Regional Comparison
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The MGMA-Sullivan/Luallin patient survey database says something important
about regional differences in scores for "Waiting time in the reception area"
and "Waiting time in the exam room."
The illustration shows each region's score for these survey questions, both
of which correlate significantly with overall satisfaction and willingness to
refer. While the Southeast region scores
highest for both survey questions, patients in the Northeast region are least
satisfied with wait times in the reception area and exam room.
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Please feel free to forward this email to your colleagues.
Sincerely,
The SullivanLuallin Team
Visit us on the web!
619.283.8988
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We've gone green!
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Our BENCHMARK newsletter is now available exclusively online. Don't miss an issue! If you received this email directly from us, you're already registered to receive the eNewsletter. If you received this email from a friend, click here to join our eNewsletter list. You'll receive BENCHMARK by email in a format that you can either print or forward directly to your physicians and managers.
Thanks for helping! |
Spotlight on Service
Now Available on DVD!
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Our highly effective web-based employee training series is now available on DVD,
so you can deliver the service message anywhere... any time... individually or
in groups... at lower cost!
Click here to view the demo...
you'll see why large and small practices in every market have chosen Spotlight
on Service for their 2009-2010 Customer Service training program.
To order,
or for more information, email us or call
619.283.8988 today! |
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